Worshipful Silence

In 1808, audiences in Frankfurt were issued with these printed instructions:

During literary or musical performances, everyone is asked to refrain from speaking. Applause, too, expresses itself better through attentiveness than the clapping of hands. Signs of disapproval are not to be expected. Dogs are not tolerated.

In New York in 1857, the Philharmonic Orchestra tried another approach, encouraging concert goers to start policing themselves:

The remedy lies with the audience itself. If each little neighborhood would take care of itself & promptly frown down the few chance disturbers of its pleasures, perfect order would soon be procured.

This could be the next step in historically informed performance practice: recreating original performance conditions. Leave the house lights up, let people wander in out, eat, chat, & generally release the audience from the expectation that they have to listen to the music. Could be quite liberating for the audience.